Hair-drying attachment eos vacuum cleaners



Feb. 26, 1929. 1,703,551

w. M, SINGER HAIR DRYING ATTACHMENT FOR VACUUM (ILEANERS Filed May 1928INVENIOR. Wafiv Al. 67/? e4 A TORNEYS Patented Feb. 26, 1 929.

UNITED STATES WALTER M. SINGER, OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA.

HAIR-DRYING ATTACHMENT FOR VACUUM CLEANERS.

Application filed May 9,

This invention relates to a device adapted to be attached to an electricvacuum cleaner, to enable the same to deliver a current of warm orheated air for use in drying the hair or for other purposes. Theprincipal object oi the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which may be quickly and easily attached to and detached froma vacuum cleaner and which highly convenient in operation.

A prr-icular object of the invention is to so construct the attachmentthat the outlet membe through which the heated air current is deliveredis both self-supporting and adjust bio and preferably disposed at aposition somewhat above the body of the vacuiun cleaner, so that withthe vacuum cleaner resting on the fioor the heated air current isdelivered in a position convenient for use by a person sitting in achair, without necessitating such person holding or supporting theoutlet member.

A further objectof the invention is to provide, in conjunction with avacuum cleaner having a main or lower suction opening directed towardthe floor and an auxiliary suction opening located for example at thefront or" the cleaner for the connection of other cleaning attachmentsthereto, a heating device adapted to fit in said auxiliary opening insuch manner as to cut otf communication between the blower and the mainor lower suction opening, so that only clean air is drawn in throughsaid heating device as hereinafter described. This prevents air frombeing drawn in from the rug or whatever object the vacuum cleaner isresting upon, as .would be the case if the air were drawn in through themain or lower opening, and thus eliminates the possibility of dust ordirt being present in the air to be used for drying the hair or forother purposes.

The heating device comprises essentially a tubular memberdefining a gaspassage and having air inlet means at one end and means at the other endfor attachment to the auxiliary suction opening of a vacuum cleaner, anda heating element preferably consisting of an electric heating coillocated within said air passage. The apparatus further comprises airdelivering means adapted to be connected to" the discharge opening of avacuum cleaner, and preferably extending upwardly therefrom and providedwith outlet means at its upper end and with semlrigid adjusting meansfor permitting ad- 1928. Serial No. 276,288.

justinentof the outlet member to difierent positions. Means are alsoprovided for electrically connecting the heating coil to the operatingcircuit of the vacuum cleaner motor and a switch is also provided insaid electric connections, said switch being advantageously mounted uponthe air delivering means so as to be close to the person using thesupply of heated air.

The accompanying drawings illustrate apparatus embodying my inventionand referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a vacuum cleaner with my hair drying meansattached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the heating device and the adjacentparts of a vacuum cleaner.

1 1g. device.

Fig. ii is a longitudinal sect-ion of the lower portion of the airdelivering member.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the outlet member.

The vacuum cleaner shown in Fig. 1 comprises a casing l in which aremounted the usual electric motor and tan or blower 0peratively connectedthereto. Said casing is mounted upon the usual wheels or rollers 2 forsupporting the same on the floor, and is provided with a handle 3 formoving the cleaner over the floor. The usual electrical connecting cordsfor the vacuum cleaner motor are shown at a, 5 and 6, the switch 7 onhandle 8 being included in one of the conductors of said cords forturning the motor on or off. The cord 4 is provided with means such asplug 8 for connection to a suitable source or electric power supply. Thecasing l is shown as provided with a forwardly and downwardly extendingportion 10 communicating through opening 11 with the chamber 12 in whichthe tan or blower is located, the openin 11 constituting the central orinlet opening of said tan or blower. The casing 10 is provided with amain suction opening 13 at the bottom thereof, said opening beingdisposed toward the fioor and constituting the opening ordinarily usedfor cleaning floors, rugs, etc. Said casing 10 is also shown as providedwith an auxiliary suction opening 15 at the front thereof and in linewith the fan inlet opening 11, said auxiliary opening being normallyclosed by a cover plate 16 mounted as by means of pin 17 so as to permitthe same to be swung either 3 is a front elevation of the heating toposition to close said opening or to the position shown in Fig. 2 so asto permit insertion of the heating device through said opening. Thedischarge or outlet pipe of the vacuum cleaner is shown at 20, it beingunderstood that in normal operation of the vacuum cleaner for suctionpurposes the usual dust collecting bag is connected to said dis chargepipe.

The heating deviceis shown in Figs. 2 and 3 as comprising a tubularmember 22 provided with air inlet means such as one or more openings 23in end plate 24 at one end there of and with a connecting or couplingportion 25 at the other end adapted to fit fairly closely in theauxiliary suction opening 15. The openings 23 are preferably formed ashorizontal slots and the portions of end plate 24 below the respectiveslots are preferably bent or flared outwardly so as to constituteinverted louvers and cause air to be drawn in only from above saidslots. The connecting portion 25 is adapted to also extend within theintake opening 11 of the fan .or blower as indicated at 26 and isprovided with a shoulder 27 adapted to engage the edges of said opening11 to provide a satisfactorily tight joint. The shoulder 27 ispreferably provided by making the end portion 26 of reduced diameter, asshown. A catch member 28 may be mounted upon leaf spring 29 securedinside the connecting portion 25, in position to engage inside the frontwall of casing 10 and hold the heating device in the positionshown, saidleaf spring being provided with a lug 30 whereby the spring may bemanually depressed to release said catch member. Any other form of catchmeans may, however, be used for this purpose. An electric heating coil32 may be wound upon a suitable refractory supporting member 33 andmounted upon supporting members 3-1 in a. position centrally of thetubular member 32. Said heating coil may be connected to the electricsupply circuit for the motor as follows. One of the wires 36 leadingfrom said heating coil may be connected to a manually operated switch3'? located in any convenient position, for example, as hereinafterdescribed, and a wire 38 leads from said switch to one of the conductorsleading to the motor. The other conductor leading to the motor isconnected through wire 39 to the other end of the heating coil. Theconnection of wires 38 and 39 to the motor circuit may be made by meansof a special connecting member L0 adapted to be insert-ed between theusual socket ll and plug 42.

The air delivering means comprises a rigid air conducting tube or pipeprovided at its lower end with means 46 whereby it may be connected tothe discharge pipe 20 ofthe vacuum cleaner. This means l6 ma 1 ifdesired, be adapted to fit directly into said discharge pipe, but inorder to adapt the de- 1 vice for use with vacuum cleaners havingdischarge openings of diflerent s1zes I prefer to provide a couplingmember 47 which may be detachably secured at one end to discharge pipe20 as by bayonet joint means and which is adapted to be detachablysecured at its other end as by catch means 48, to the lower end of theair conducting member 45. A filter member or screen 59 is preferablyprovided at a suitable point in the air delivering means, for example,at the bottom' it to be adjusted by application of manual force thereto.Such tubing is, therefore, semi-flexible or semi-rigid, these termsbeing used to indicate that it may be bent to different positions, butthat in the absence of application of an external force it will retainany position to which it is so bent. The switch 37 aforesaid may beconveniently mounted adjacent the upper portion of the air conductingmember a5, and the wires 36 and 38 are preferably carried in a cord 58,which enters the pipe 45 through opening 57 adjacent the lower endthereof (see Fig. l) and extends upwardly inside said pipe to saidswitch. Means such as a rubber sleeve 56 may be provided where said cordenters said pipe, to prevent leakage of air.

At the end of the air conducting member 45 or the adjusting section 47thereof, is connected the outlet member 50, said memher being shown (seeFig. 5) as flaring outwardly to some extent so as to tend to spread thecurrent of heated air delivered thereby over a sufficient area for thedesired purpose. Such spreading of the heated air current may also bepromoted by providing a spreading cone 51 within the outlet member andhaving its walls tapering in the same direction as said outlet member.Said spreading cone may be mounted upon an end plate 52 which may beprovided with perforations 53 outside the spreading cone and with one ormore perforations 54 inside said spreading cone. The cone 51 may also beprovided with opening means 55 at its smaller end, the openings 53, 54and 55 being so distributed andso pro portioned as to size and number asto give the desired spreading and distribution of the heated airdelivered through outlet member 50. A wooden handle 62 may be providedon outlet member 50.

The operation of the above apparatus is as follows: The vacuum cleanermay be placed upon the floor or in any other convenient position. Theheating device is then inserted by moving plate 16 to the position shownand inserting the connecting portion 25 in the auxiliary suction opening15, as shown in Fig. 2. When in this position the portion 25 completelyblocks communication between the main or lower suction openin 13 and thefan or blower. The air delivering n eans including coupling member 47,if the same is used, is connected to the discharge pipe 20 of the vacuumcleaner, with the air conducting tube extending upwardly as shown inFig. 1. The outlet member may be adjusted to the desired position eitherbefore or during the operation, by simply bending or flexing thesemi-rigid adjusting means 47, such adjusting means maintaining anyposition to which it is so moved. In effecting this adjustment, the usermay take hold of handle 62, this being particularly advantageous in casethe outlet member itself becomes too hot to handle with comfort, due tothe heated air passing therethrough.

Switch 7 may then be closed to start the motor and fan in operation andswitch 37 may also be closed to energize the heating coil 32. Clean airis thus drawn in through openings 23 and passes through the tubularmember 22 and around heating coil 32 whereby it is heated to the desiredtemperature, which is dependent upon the size of said heating coil inrelation to the rate at which air is drawn in. The heated air then isdrawn from the heatin device into the fan or blower in chamber 12 anddelivered by said fan or blower through discharge pipe 20 and thencethrough the air delivering means 45 and 47 to outlet member 50. Inpassing through said outlet member part of the air enters the spreadingcone 51 through opening 55 while the remainder is spread by said coneand passes between the cone and the outer wall. The air entering cone 51is delivered through opening or openings 54 while that passing outsidethe cones is delivered through openings 58, so that the warm air currentleaving the outlet member is directed in a divergent or fan shapedmanner as indicated by the arrows at in Fig. 1.v The extent of thisdivergence or spreading of the warm air current may be such as todistribute such air over the desired area at the position where itis tobe used.

It is evident that the above construction is such as to insure thedrawing in of clean air at all times, due to the complete obstruction ofcommunication from the main suction opening of the vacuum cleaner andthat such obstruction is automatically elfected by pro viding a heatingdevice fitting into the auxiliary suction openin and having the tubularportion 25 extending into the fan inlet opening 11 so as to prevententrance of air into the fan except through the interior of said heatingdevice. Furthermore, air is drawn in only from above through openings23, so that such air is always clean and is free from dirt which mightbe present if the air were drawn in from near the floor. Any particlesof lint or other foreign substances which might be drawn in, however, orwhich might be dislodged by the passing air stream from any point oftemporary lodging within the vacuum cleaner, will be caught by filtermember 59 and thus prevented from passing with the heated air throughoutlet member 50.

It will also be noted that the rigidity the air conducting pipe l5 andthe fact that it. extends upwardly for a distance of several feetenables the vacuum cleaner to be placed upon the floor while rigidlyholding the outlet member 48 in position adjacent the level of the headof a' person seated upon a chair, and hence in convenient position fordirecting the heated air against the hair of such icrson to dry thesame. A person having started the device in operation and adjusted theoutlet member to the desired position may, therefore, simply sit at easein the chair and carry on any other desired occupation such as readingor sewing while the hair is being dried. The switch 37 included in theenergizing circuit of the heating coil permits such coil to be shut olf,if desired, while the fan still in operation so that the apparatus maybe caused to deliver a current of air at substan tially atmosphericpressure, if such is desired for any purpose, instead of heated air.

The air heating and air delivering means of my invention may be applied,in general, to any type of electric vacuum cleaner, it being necessaryonly that such vacuum cleaner have a suction opening to which theheating device may be attached, said opening preferably being anauxiliary opening other than the main suction opening at the bottom ofthe vacuum cleaner, and that it have an outlet opening to which the airdelivering means may be connected.

I claim:

1. A hair drying attachment for vacuum cleaners comprising a heatingdevice adapted to be connected to the auxiliary suction opening of avacuum cleaner and to heat air drawn therethrough into said opening, andair delivering means adapted to be connected to the discharge opening ofa vacuum cleaner so as to extend upwardly therefrom and provided withoutlet means for heated air at its upper end, said heating device beingformed to obstruct communication from the main suction opening of thevacuum cleaner to the blower thereof, upon connection of said heatingdevice to said auxiliary suction opening, and said heating device beingprovided at its outer end with opening Eli) means and being so formedadjacent said openings as to cause a1r to enter the same from aboveonly.

A hair drying attachment for an electric vacuum cleaner provided withelectric supply connecting means including a detachable plug and socketconnection, comprising a heating device consisting of a tubular memberadapted for passage of air therethrough and an electric heating elementwithin said tubular member, means for detachably connecting said heatingdevice to the auxiliary suction opening of said vacuum cleaner, airdelivering means adapted to be connected to the discharge opening ofsaid vacuum cleaner so as to extend upwardly therefrom and provided atits upper end with outlet means for heated air, and means forelectrically connecting said heating element to the electric supplyconnecting means of said vacuum cleaner comprising a connecting memberadapted to be inserted between said'plug and socket and having twoconducting members extending therethrough to maintain electricconnection therebetween and means electrically connecting said heatingelement to the respective conducting members in said con necting member.

3. In a hair drying attachment for vacuum cleaners, an air inlet andheating device comprising a tubular member adapted for passage of airtherethrough and provided with means at one end for detachableconnection thereof to the auxiliary opening of a vacuum cleaner, saidconnecting means being adapted to substantially cut ofi communicationfrom the main suction opening at the bottom of the vacuum cleaner to theblower thereof, and a heating element mounted within said tubularmember.

4. In a hair drying attachment for vacuum cleaners, air delivering meansadapted to be connected to the discharge opening of a vacuum cleaner andcomprising a rigid tubularmember extending upwardly therefrom, asemi-rigid tubular member connectedto the upper end of said rigid memberand adapted to be manually bent to the desired position but to retainany position to which it is so bent, and outlet means at the end of saidsemi-rigid member.

5. In a hair drying attachment for vacuum cleaners, an outlet membercomprising an outer tubular member flaring outwardly in the direction ofair flow, a spreading cone mounted within said outer member and spacedtherefrom and flaring in the same direction, opening means at thesmaller end of said cone to limit admission of air thereto, and an endmember extending across the larger end of said outer member and provided with opening means permitting outflow of air from the interior ofsaid cone and with outlet means permitting outflow of air from the spacebetween said cone and the outer member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 27th day ofApril, 1928.

WALTER M. SINGER.

